Natural law
, a of the , revived and developed the concept of natural law from }} Natural law is a asserting that certain are inherent by virtue of , endowed by —traditionally by or a source—and that these can be understood universally through . As determined by nature, the law of nature is implied to be objective and universal; it exists independently of human understanding, and of the of a given , , or at large. Historically, natural law refers to the use of reason to analyze to binding rules of from nature's or God's creation of and . The concept of natural law was documented in , including , and was referred to in by . References to natural law are also found in the Old and New Testaments of the , later expounded upon in the by s such as and . The made notable contributions during the . Modern natural law theories were greatly developed in the , combining inspiration from with philosophies like theory. Key proponents were , , , , , , , , , , , and . It was used to challenge the , and became an alternative justification for the establishment of a , , and —and thus legal rights—in the form of . Conversely, the concept of natural rights is used by others to challenge the legitimacy of all such establishments. Contemporarily, the concept of natural law is closely related to the concept of . Indeed, many s, s and scholars use natural law synonymously with natural rights, or . while others distinguish between natural law and natural right. Because of the intersection between natural law and , natural law has been claimed or attributed as a key component in the (1776), the (1789) of , the (1948) of the , as well as the (1953) of the . Contemporary jurisprudence In , natural law can refer to the several doctrines: * That are in nature; that is, they can be "discovered" or "found" but not "created" by such things as a ; * That they can emerge by the natural process of resolving conflicts, as embodied by the evolutionary process of the common law; or * That the meaning of law is such that its content cannot be determined except by reference to moral principles. These meanings can either oppose or complement each other, although they share the common trait that they rely on inherence as opposed to design in finding just laws. Whereas would say that a law can be unjust without it being any less a law, a natural law jurisprudence would say that there is something legally deficient about an unjust norm. , famously defended in the English-speaking world by , claims to have a position different from both natural law and positivism. Besides and , natural law jurisprudence has in common with that it is a live option for a ethics theory in . The concept of natural law was very important in the development of the English . In the struggles between and the , Parliament often made reference to the , which were at times said to embody natural law principles since and set limits on the power of the monarchy. According to , however, natural law might be useful in determining the content of the common law and in deciding cases of , but was not itself identical with the laws of England. Nonetheless, the implication of natural law in the common law tradition has meant that the great opponents of natural law and advocates of , like , have also been staunch critics of the common law. Natural law jurisprudence is currently undergoing a period of reformulation (as is legal positivism). The most prominent contemporary natural law jurist, Australian , is based in Oxford, but there are also Americans , , and Canadian and Brazilian Emídio Brasileiro. All have tried to construct a new version of natural law. The 19th-century and legal theorist, , was also a figure in the expression of modern natural law. "New Natural Law" as it is sometimes called, originated with Grisez. It focuses on "basic human goods", such as human life, knowledge, and aesthetic experience, which are and intrinsically worthwhile, and states that these goods reveal themselves as being with one another. The tensions between the natural law and the positive law have played, and continue to play a key role in the development of . References Category:Civilization